City council honors 5 police officers, paramedic

Published: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 9:48 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 9:48 p.m.

WILMINGTON | Five Wilmington Police Department officers and an off-duty Pender County paramedic were recognized during Tuesday’s city council meeting for lifesaving actions. Here are summaries of the incidents, according to WPD spokeswoman Lucy Crockett:

Officer Pete Schwarz – Lifesaving Award: Kaleb Rundquist was playing hockey Jan. 15, 2012, at the Wilmington Ice House when another player’s skate blade cut his jugular vein. Schwarz, who was off duty, used the ice surface to cool Rundquist to reduce blood loss, applied direct pressure and elevated Rundquist’s head. Rundquist underwent 90 minutes of surgery at the hospital, where a surgeon said he could have died without immediate aid.

Officers Don Oakes and Carey Hunter – Lifesaving Awards; Stacey Wright – Citizen’s Award: Oakes and Hunter found a 70-year-old man unresponsive Sept. 22, 2012, in a vehicle in the 600 block of South College Road. As they did CPR, Wright, an EMT- paramedic and training officer for Pender EMS, stopped to assist. Wright said, if not for the officers, the outcome would have been different.

Officer/Detective Travis Williams – Lifesaving Award: A woman reported her 82-year-old father, who suffers from dementia and walks with a cane, missing the night of Nov. 29, 2012, from their home on Summerlin Falls Court. Williams searched in the area of Carolina Beach Road and George Anderson Drive, where he spotted the man about 30 yards into the woods, tangled in shrubs, cold and a leg stuck in a drain pipe. The victim was freed, and EMS and his daughter were contacted.

Officer Jason Worrell – Lifesaving Award: About 9 p.m. March 7, Worrell found a man not breathing and with no heartbeat on the floor of an apartment in the 5000 block of Penny Lane. He did CPR until paramedics arrived. An EMS battalion chief said Worrell’s actions contributed to EMS’s ability to revive the patient.

<p>WILMINGTON | Five Wilmington Police Department officers and an off-duty Pender County paramedic were recognized during Tuesday's city council meeting for lifesaving actions. Here are summaries of the incidents, according to WPD spokeswoman Lucy Crockett:</p><p>Officer Pete Schwarz – Lifesaving Award: Kaleb Rundquist was playing hockey Jan. 15, 2012, at the Wilmington Ice House when another player's skate blade cut his jugular vein. Schwarz, who was off duty, used the ice surface to cool Rundquist to reduce blood loss, applied direct pressure and elevated Rundquist's head. Rundquist underwent 90 minutes of surgery at the hospital, where a surgeon said he could have died without immediate aid.</p><p>Officers Don Oakes and Carey Hunter – Lifesaving Awards; Stacey Wright – Citizen's Award: Oakes and Hunter found a 70-year-old man unresponsive Sept. 22, 2012, in a vehicle in the 600 block of South College Road. As they did CPR, Wright, an EMT- paramedic and training officer for Pender EMS, stopped to assist. Wright said, if not for the officers, the outcome would have been different. </p><p>Officer/Detective Travis Williams – Lifesaving Award: A woman reported her 82-year-old father, who suffers from dementia and walks with a cane, missing the night of Nov. 29, 2012, from their home on Summerlin Falls Court. Williams searched in the area of Carolina Beach Road and George Anderson Drive, where he spotted the man about 30 yards into the woods, tangled in shrubs, cold and a leg stuck in a drain pipe. The victim was freed, and EMS and his daughter were contacted. </p><p>Officer Jason Worrell – Lifesaving Award: About 9 p.m. March 7, Worrell found a man not breathing and with no heartbeat on the floor of an apartment in the 5000 block of Penny Lane. He did CPR until paramedics arrived. An EMS battalion chief said Worrell's actions contributed to EMS's ability to revive the patient.</p><p><i></p><p>– Jim Ware</i></p>